AnywhereInput

Control your Windows, Linux, or macOS PC from any browser. No app install, no account, no cloud dependency.

Run a Python server on your PC and control it from any browser - mouse, keyboard, scrolling, real-time screen capture, with zero-config tunnel support.

⚡ Quick Install

Windows

pip install anywhereinput
anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare   # or: tailscale, pinggy, zrok2, local

Pre-requirement: Python 3.9+ from python.org — make sure to check "Add Python to PATH" during installation.

macOS

pip3 install anywhereinput
anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare

Note: Grant "Screen Recording" access to Terminal in System Settings > Privacy & Security.

Linux (Recommended: pipx)

sudo apt install pipx && pipx ensurepath   # install pipx (one-time, Ubuntu/Debian)
pipx install anywhereinput                 # installs all deps automatically
anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare

pipx keeps the install isolated from system Python — no dependency conflicts, no sudo pip.

Linux (System pip)

# Pre-reqs for Pillow JPEG support and pyautogui X11 capture
sudo apt install libjpeg-dev zlib1g-dev libxrandr-dev
pip install anywhereinput
anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare

Headless / Server-Only Mode

The --app flag requires a desktop display (X11/Wayland/Windows GUI). For headless servers, run without it:

# Server mode — works over SSH on any Linux server
anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare   # starts the HTTP server only
# Then access from any device that can reach the URL

💡 The --quiet flag silences console output while keeping file logging active — useful for systemd or background processes.

🖥️ Desktop Admin App (Optional)

pip install anywhereinput[app]    # includes PyQt6
anywhereinput --app               # visual GUI - no terminal needed

⚠️ Requires a desktop display (X11/Wayland on Linux, or native Windows/macOS). On headless servers, skip --app and use the CLI/token API instead:

anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare   # server works fine without GUI

The desktop app lets you start/stop the server, pick tunnel providers, manage access tokens with IP allowlists, and monitor connected clients - all from a visual window.

Why AnywhereInput?

✨ Features

• Mouse - move, click (left/right/middle), double-click, scroll
• Keyboard - key press, text typing, hotkey combos (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Alt+Del, etc.)
• Screen Capture - real-time JPEG stream to browser, up to 120 FPS (adaptive)
• Touchpad Gestures - two-finger scroll, long-press right click, tap-to-click
• Screen Overlay Click - tap anywhere on the live stream to move the cursor there
• Paint Mode - draw directly on screen from the browser
• Multi-monitor - auto cursor tracking across all detected displays
• Tunnels - Cloudflare (free, auto-download), Tailscale P2P, Pinggy.io SSH, Zrok2, or LAN-only
• Security - per-token input permissions, IP allowlists (CIDR), blocked IPs, rate limiting, audit logging, auto-rotating tokens, connection request approval flow
• Capture Modes - Balanced, Quality, Performance, Low Bandwidth presets (custom modes saveable)

🚀 Usage

Interactive Menu (Default)

anywhereinput
# Select tunnel provider from the menu

Direct Start with Tunnel

anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare    # Fastest global access
anywhereinput --tunnel tailscale       # Peer-to-peer on your tailnet
anywhereinput --tunnel pinggy          # SSH tunnel, works behind firewalls
anywhereinput --tunnel zrok2           # Open source, zero-trust
anywhereinput --tunnel local           # Same WiFi/LAN only

Full Configuration

anywhereinput   --host 127.0.0.1   --port 8008   --fps 60   --quality 40   --scale 0.7   --monitor 1   --tunnel cloudflare

🔒 Security

• Auto-generated 32-character access token on every server start
• Per-token permissions - grant/restrict move, click, scroll, keyboard, screen_toggle, ping
• IP allowlists per token - CIDR ranges and single-host support
• Blocked IPs - block specific IPs from individual tokens via API or admin app
• Rate limiting - per-IP limits on WebSocket auth, API, and token creation (localhost excluded)
• Audit logging - JSON-lines rotating log for all security events (token/client/IP/connection changes)
• Token rotation - press n + Enter or Ctrl+N to invalidate all previous tokens
• Connection request approval - clients can request access; admins approve/decline from the server
• HTTPS/WSS encryption when using any tunnel provider
• Zero data stored on external servers

⚠️ The --app flag requires a desktop display (X11 on Linux, Windows GUI, or macOS). On headless servers, run without it — the server still works perfectly:

# Server mode only — no GUI needed
anywhereinput --tunnel cloudflare
# Access from any device that can reach the URL

📡 WebSocket API

Authenticate

{"type": "auth", "token": "***"}

Send Commands

{"type": "move", "mode": "relative", "dx": 10, "dy": 15}
{"type": "move", "mode": "absolute", "dx": 0.5, "dy": 0.5}
{"type": "click", "button": "left", "clicks": 1}
{"type": "scroll", "amount": 15}
{"type": "key", "key": "enter"}
{"type": "hotkey", "keys": ["ctrl", "c"]}
{"type": "screen_toggle", "enabled": true}
{"type": "screen_restart"}  # Force-rebuild capture stream (useful if frozen)
{"type": "ping"}

Receive Events

{"type": "screen", "data": "<base64-jpeg>"}
{"type": "screen_status", "status": "rebuilding", "message": "Reconnecting to display..."}
{"error": "capture_error", "message": "Input engine is recovering.", "recovering": true}

HTTP Endpoints

🧰 Troubleshooting

📋 System Requirements

📦 Dependencies Installed

Running pip install anywhereinput automatically installs these packages:

💡 On Ubuntu/Debian, the pipx method above handles all system dependencies correctly. The only pre-req is Python 3.9+.

🔗 Links

• Website: https://www.anywhereinput.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/Z-Hussein/AnywhereInput
• PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/anywhereinput/
• Issues: https://github.com/Z-Hussein/AnywhereInput/issues
• License: MIT

Built with ❤️ for developers who value simplicity over complexity.